At the presentation given by Richard Speakes it was interesting to listen to the music that Robert Johnson was famous for way back when. It is obvious that Richard Speakes is a huge fan of the blues and of course of Robert Johnson himself. Speakes even admitted that his music was “sacred” to him, and he compared this musician to the likes of Shakespeare. From Speakes' perspective the music that the original bluesmen performed was way better than anything that a modern rock band could ever do. I do not agree with this opinion because I like modern music, even if it can sometimes be obnoxious or “loud.” I liked how Speakes used his sense of humor, which set the tone of the presentation to be more mellow and relaxed. Listening to this music called the blues was refreshing because it was new to me and it made me understand the character of Robert Johnson in a more detailed way. This music was very nostalgic, obviously sad, and very American. Like most other people in the audience I did not really like that all the songs had to be cut short, even if I was not the biggest blues fan that has ever lived. Overall I think that Speakes did a good job at presenting in his own unique, unexpected style.
The presentation that Brenda Flyswithhawks gave was definitely unusual to hear because I am not used to hear from people with Native American heritage. For a brief second there when she asked for Sherman Alexie to come out on stage I was fooled into believing that he was actually there. I like that she used her sense of humor. Listening about her large Indian family was also a great window into the real life of Indians. She referred to Sherman Alexie as her brother, which made it sound as if the Indian nation is very closely knit. This was not an easy speech to listen to because she talked about genocide and land rights. She was not afraid to speak her mind, and I admire her for it because I know that doing this takes a lot of guts. Flyswithhawks also talked about land, and how we were all living on Indian land. I can understand why she would say that this land belongs to Native Americans, but a lot of people would not agree with her. If I ever end up taking a class with Dr. Flyswithhawks I know that I will have a different experience and learn some more about Indian culture.
http://www.dlackey.org/weblog/images/reservationblues.jpg The presentation given by Richard Speakes dealt with a completely different topic than what Dr. Flyswithhawks talked about. Richard Speakes had his own opinions about music and Dr. Flyswithhawks told her side of the story. Their presentation styles where very different. I think that what Speakes said was less controversial and therefore easier to listen to. Flyswithhawks made me wonder about land disputes and the colonial times that are still having an impact on people to this day. Both of the presenters gave me a more in depth look at the novel. Even if I did not completely agree with everything they expressed in their speeches I am glad that I got to listen to what they had to say.
